Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1887-01-22
THE MOUSE RIVER REGION.
Long and Tedlus Travels for Large
Game.
J. B. Copeland in cr.okston Journal.

Long and Tedlus Travels for Large
Game.
J. B. Copeland In Cr"ok,ton Journal.
In my las. I babe you g.n,d night "a
we crawl. into the barn to sleep. l
now brd you good morning as We crawl
out. / was out Y little in advance Of the
boys, aud NJ I Sat upon u stumpa and saw
them come uut one after the other. A
high-toned conductor, y Scutch lord and
~a.respectable farmer playing the tramp
act to perfection. We were not very
athlete, being somewhat stiff in the
joiub. II took III time to timber up,
owing 10 our beinx ~ far down into the
canyon that The sun could moi get ut US.
A few stretches, u few yawns and n little
exercise set Us right and We loaded Our
wagons, fed our hurses and took n wash.
Those whu have never rode or wake I
over n burnt lrn,rle have q very slight
understanding Of what u wash meant {, I
us. Indeed it WAS u rash act, but none
Of III were health officers and not SUI.
posed to know the danger to which We
were being exposed. Lurd Coutts looked
~ though he was about to enter the
house Of lords, and the farmer nigh,
have been taken for u dry goods clerk,
their complexiuns mad become 81 III l.
denly white. A glance AT our garments
would have destroyed any such fancy.
though, rs teO close contact with brush.
brlers and rose bushes had given them N
decidedly worn appearance. Ourappe-
tites were all right, for which fact Mrs.
Parks, who prepared our breakfast, Cal,
vnuch. This was AiiOlller 1T the smoky
days and one which puzzled Us very
much III keeping our direction. We
wished to strike the Mouse river Ut the
point now known ~ MinOt, and which i,
NV the I, 1mlnus uf lh, s. Pull l. Mat.
itoba. How vel We Kept our dire.
ton is SHOWN from the fact that we
struck il ~ miles southeast vi Mlnul
and about six miles West vi Scrip uMn.
It Was u long tedious ride, as we wer.
Constantly il doubt as to our where
adults, and as To whether We SHOULD hnu
water for ourselves and horses. Wcsaw
no game, unless you include white owls
aud got,l'ers IL the game list. Our MS
p%lralIUi,s were u llltle o. high To pay
any attention " III owl, but We were
often led cut Vi our way ny them for u,
the smoky distance they had the AN
appearance as al antelope. disgust wa-
always the result VI these llllle side plays.
To get Uut Of II wagon, take u look 1T
your rifle to see that IL is all right. sneak
around u hill for gu.L shot and zee
your >u,,p,sed owl spread his wings and
fly away woul,i disgust amy o"e. All Vi
these little episuds> are unavoidable u.
antelope hunting, ut least my expert.
ence 70 teaches me Sometimes you
will drive u uuple If miles to Iinl that
your game Is only u wlllle BOULDER On a
hill side. About 4 u'cl.uk y. ~. we
struck some lnlle lakes. We III first
thought We were again ON the Winter.
ing river, but investigation proved that
it was Spring creek. This we followed
fr some time, finally leaving it 10 the
right Of Us, We brought up 1T the house
Of u Germ All who told us just where We
were. ~ miles from Mi,iut and Fix from
Scril,tuwm. We drove back to Scriutuwn
tO obtain oats for The nUises and then
took the river trail for Milct. Night
overlook Us ut the mouth 0: Spring
creek. This creek emplles into the
Mouse at this point, its water il pure
and for this reason We pitched our tent
here. The night was cloudy and quite
cold, but we slept warm and comiort'
able, the only thing occurring to disturb
u slumbers being the familiarity Of one
Of uur ponies, who, in the absence III
timber or rail fences, Used our tent pole.
1t was not equal to the pressure and 81
down it came. l do not know whether
the commoliun under the lent frighten'
ell the pony more :han the cOmmulio.
outside frightened u-, but l know that
we were pretty we'll scared. Lord G,ut'.
cried, get out TAuIun," and the farm
er said ''damn those dogs" but my fu,
convinced me that something Heavier
than a dog Was outside. We did no,
think it worth while TO put III tie ten,
again. There are ONE ~incbnvenience,
to be endured hunting antelope. The
place where We canped II quite n
pleas ant spot where is not I'M
pressed with SUCH. u seuse Of loneline-.
rs out on the level prairie. Tie friend
w old hills which loom up Oh either side
of the Mouse like sentinels t. guard GU
slumLber and shelle- us from the wind
destroys loneliness and makes one fee
that Il presence is near, and who, that Il
q lover 1T nature can sit in he quie
hours of night looking upon these silent
immovabl- giants without f. cling that .
voice cu.nes to him which is felt rattle
than heard. The deep Gu, canyons tina
wind around among them tells Of lliei
grea. age. Their forms speak Of strength
beauty, grandeur and endurance. Thu
valley Of the Mouse is rich and product
i've. lis soil being the wash Of ce,turie